Dean's Update

On Leap Day our students organized an enlightening and engaging celebration of Black Heritage Month, with Professor Tyrone Freeman presenting from his work on Madame Walker, with a performance artist recreating the atmosphere of her times, as the school was presented with two beautiful lithographs from the collection of Fisk University.

After three days on campus and extensive interviews with faculty, administrators, students and community leaders, the school’s external review committee gave us some preliminary ideas of findings they will finalize in writing by the end of the month. They challenged us to maintain our leadership in the field as we focus on attracting and preparing students for exceptional lives and careers of philanthropy. The committee was comprised of DeanTom Davis and Professor Wilhelm from the Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) campus, joining ProfessorsRobert Ashcraft from Arizona State and Jim Ferris from University of Southern California (USC), alongside community members Tom Hiatt and Pat Roe. Their dedication, thoroughness, and stamina were in ample evidence after their immersion in our school’s life. We are truly grateful for their service and engagement with our work.

We were also pleased to welcome Jamie Merisotis, president of Lumina Foundation, one of our top experts on education policy and author of America Needs Talent. He joined Professor Catherine Herrold’s class on foundations to tell the story of how Lumina crafted and implemented its laser-like focus on boosting the number of Americans with higher education credentials.

We also continued our discussions with various partners as we seek to identify high potential practitioners to apply to our executive master’s program. As we heard from Jamie Merisotis, the future of education will challenge us to reach students who cannot exit their careers to build the skills and perspective they need for professional advancement. Our executive master’s program is designed to allow students to continue their family and career responsibilities while enabling them to better understand the larger context and hone their capacity to lead. If you know of talented professionals with at least five years of professional experience, do send them my way. I will be happy to reach out to them and learn about their interests and ambitions.

We are saddened by the recent loss of our esteemed colleague, mentor and friend Charles Johnson, who served on our board from 1995 to 2005 and chaired it from 1999-2001. I am honored to have had the privilege of meeting him last year. Charles was instrumental in bringing The Fund Raising School to Indiana University and was a founder of the Center on Philanthropy and the field of philanthropic studies. A former vice president for development at Lilly Endowment, he was a pioneer in building the many of the most well-known and relied upon philanthropy and nonprofit infrastructure organizations in the sector, as well as Lilly Endowment’s landmark community foundations initiative for Indiana, and many other important initiatives. Charles’ quiet, visionary leadership will have an enduring impact on those who knew him, and on our sector for generations to come.

Last but certainly not least, I would like to welcome Mike Henderson as our newest Board of Visitors member. We are honored to have him join us!

11, The Power and Influence of Women’s Philanthropy Luncheon (hosted by Cindy Simon Skjodt and WPI)

12, IU Day is coming soon!IU Day is an online, worldwide celebration of Indiana University: a binge-watching, social-sharing, IU-wearing, gift-giving IU extravaganza. IU trivia, games, mini lectures, and more will take place on April 12. And if you want to support the school you love, make your gift on IU Day to the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.

Lara Kalwinski, Director, Community Foundations National Standards Board, Council on Foundations, Washington DC

March 9—Pamela Clark, director of student services and admissions, was a judge for the Students In Action competition, and the school awarded Decatur Central High School a $500 award to continue their community service. The school can also give $1000 scholarships to up to 10 of their members. This event took place at the Indianapolis Colts' Training Facility and aired on WRTV Channel 6.

March 29—Pat McAfee, Indianapolis Colts punter and local philanthropist was a guest to the new Celebrity Philanthropy course taught by Gene Tempel, Genevieve Shaker, and Sarah Nathan.

The workshop included four panels made up of Lilly Family School of Philanthropy faculty and staff as well as visitors. It was convened by Mark Sidel, who is currently serving in the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation Visiting Chair on Community Foundations at the school.

Panelists included Professor Catherine Herrold whose presentation was titled “Community Foundations as Political Reformers: Leading Local Democracy Building Efforts Amidst Political Turbulence.”

A group of senior fundraising executives and consultants, called the 2030 Group, are developing an action plan to make young people more aware that there are rewarding careers in fundraising. Following a visit from a colleague of ours, Rod Kirsch, senior vice president for development and alumni relations at Penn State University, who is a member of the group, Gene Tempel will be meeting with the group on April 6 and 7 to discuss how programs like ours can be part of their plans.

Faculty Activities, Awards, and Publications

March 12-13—Dwight Burlingame, professor of Philanthropic Studies and Glenn Family Chair in Philanthropy, participated in the Strategic Planning Retreat for CFRE, International in Washington, DC as an expert consultant.

March 16—Gene Tempel was invited to talk to the Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)Head Coaches and IUPUI Athletic Department Administrators about philanthropy.

March 17—Gene Tempel presented “Civic Engagement for Expatriates: Introduction to the Nonprofit Sector” at the International Center-Indianapolis, IN.

March 20—Gene Tempel and Sarah Nathan presented at Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) International Fundraising Conference. Their presentation was titled "Fundraisers: Their Careers, Stories, Concerns, and Accomplishments II."

March 26—Kathi Badertscher presented at the Hoosier Women at Work Conference.

March 31-Women’s History Month Leadership Reception

Exemplary women faculty, staff and students were honored at the Women’s History Month Leadership Reception.

Tyrone Freeman, assistant professor of Philanthropic Studies (PHST) and director of undergraduate programs, delivered a well-received presentation to Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) Program Review and Assessment Committee (PRAC) about the PHST capstone course and degree program. PRAC is the campus-wide group that oversees assessment of all of IUPUI’s degree programs and is comprised of representatives from all schools and several administrative units.

Una Osili, director of research, and Ellie (Heng Qu), Ph.D. student, had a paper accepted for publication in Nonprofit and Voluntary Action Quarterly.

International Programs

The Fund Raising School

March 20-22—AFP International Conference Exhibit and Reception in Boston, MABill Stanczykiewicz and Melissa Buller attended along with fellow colleagues.

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After a successful debut in January, The Fund Raising School returns with another offering of the Leadership Roundtable, June 23-24, 2016, in Indianapolis, IN.

The Leadership Roundtable is designed to attract experienced fundraising professionals to The Fund Raising School. While veteran fundraisers have high level skills, they still and will always need the latest data and information on charitable giving and donor behavior. The Leadership Roundtable provides that useful information, primarily through the significant research of the IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.

While the event in January was centered on the Philanthropy Outlook study, the Leadership Roundtable in June will prominently feature the new Giving USA report. Other presentation topics include the latest findings from our school’s newly updated book, Achieving Excellence in Fundraising, findings from our school’s new study on the fundraising profession, new research on planned giving and a discussion of how donations to presidential election campaigns impact charitable giving.

The Leadership Roundtable also will feature a panel of fundraising experts who will discuss and attempt to resolve common challenges faced by veteran fundraisers.

Registration discounts are available for people who have earned the Certificate in Fund Raising Management (CFRM) or an academic degree from the IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy (or the Center on Philanthropy).

Women's Philanthropy Institute

Women’s Philanthropy Institute (WPI) has been on the road again this month. Dr. Debra Mesch spoke to two groups of women in China about WPI’s research and the power and influence of women in philanthropy. In Shenzhen, she spoke with about 150 women entrepreneurs, philanthropists, and female CEOs of nonprofit organizations. In Beijing she spoke with about 50 women from the All-China Women’s Foundation. She found that the women, in general, were very excited about philanthropy and asked “how do I engage in this work? How do I start?”

Back in the United States, Dr. Mesch traveled to Atlanta to speak to two groups at the Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta. The first was a small “learning circle” of women who spent six months learning more about the nonprofit sector as well as how they can make a difference in their communities. Later in the afternoon, she spoke to a larger group of nonprofit leaders, financial advisors, and donors about the power and influence of women in philanthropy, sharing some of the new research funded by the Gates Foundation grant.

Dr. Mesch continued her road trips with a visit to Kansas City as guest of Nonprofit Connect, an infrastructure organization serving the Greater Kansas City nonprofit community. This invitation came from Jeffrey Byrne whose fundraising consulting firm is a member of the Giving Institute. She spoke to a broad audience of nonprofit leaders, donors, and fundraisers about WPI research and women’s increasing visibility and leadership in philanthropy. Then, she moderated a panel discussion with six local women philanthropists, weaving in research findings throughout the discussion.

Lake Institute on Faith & Giving

March 12—Melissa Spas and Phil Jamieson led a Creating Congregational Cultures of Generosity seminar for the United Methodist Foundation for the Memphis & Tennessee Conferences in Nashville, TN. This is day two of this three-day serial offering.

March 30–April 1—Bill Enright presented on behalf of Lake Institute at the Stepping into Stewardship Conference hosted by the United Church of Christ (Disciples of Christ) in Orlando, FL.

March 31—Dr. Jonathan Walton presented the 13th Annual Thomas H. Lake Lecture in Indianapolis, IN. Walton is the Plummer Professor of Christian Morals, Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church, and Professor of Religion and Society at Harvard Divinity School. The title of his lecture was “Jesus, Chief Executive: The Gospel of Health & Wealth at the Core of American Religion.”

Research

March 14—Dr. Una Osili, director of Research, participated in a conference in Stockholm, Sweden organized by the Swedish Entrepreneurship Forum around understanding new approaches to philanthropy in the U.S. Dr. Osili presented on understanding the U.S. philanthropic context.

March 17—Dr. Osili presented to the Indiana Association of United Ways at the group’s annual statewide convening in Indianapolis. Dr. Osili presented on how philanthropy is changing, and implications for the United Way in Indiana.

March 22—Dr. Osili and Jonathan Bergdoll, applied statistician, hosted two representatives from the Salvation Army regional offices in Nashville, TN. They discussed the Human Needs Index project and our ongoing partnership.

Development

February 23—Sarah Mishurov, director of strategy and operations of the Hearst Foundations, visited the school. She met with faculty and staff of the school while also taking time to meet with current students. The Hearst Foundations are national philanthropic resources for organizations and institutions working in the fields of education, health, culture and social service. Following her visit, Hearst Foundations’ Board of Directors approved a grant of $100,000 to provide scholarships to undergraduate minority students in the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.

March 9—Morton Meyerson visited the school and spoke to students, staff and faculty on “Failures, Luck and Relationships” over lunch. Morton is chair of 2M Companies, Inc., a family-owned investment firm. He previously served as president and vice chair of Electronic Data Systems (EDS) and as chairman and CEO of Perot Systems.

Looking Ahead!

April 7-9—Former Board of Visitor member Harriet Ivey’s Capstone Award was awarded to Shanel Poole. This award will allow her to attend the Association of Black Foundation Executives (ABFE) Conference: Empower Philanthropy in Baltimore, MD on April 7-9.

April 12—IU Day is coming soon!IU Day is an online, worldwide celebration of Indiana University: a binge-watching, social-sharing, IU-wearing, gift-giving IU extravaganza. IU trivia, games, mini lectures, and more will take place on April 12. And if you want to support the school you love, make your gift on IU Day to the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.

April 18—Derrick Feldmann, a 2001 M.A. in Philanthropic Studies alumnus, recently released his book Social Movements for Good- How Companies and Causes Create Viral Change. On April 18, the school, Achieve, and Indy Reads will co-host a conversation with Derrick at 4:00 p.m., followed by a reception and networking. The event is open to the public and will be hosted at Indy Reads.

Communications

Dean Pasic was quoted in a Reuters article about using crowdfunding for less-than-charitable personal fundraising purposes. The story also appeared in Fortune, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune and other outlets.

Dean Pasic also was quoted in an article in The NonProfit Times about whether seniors will be able to afford to continue giving in retirement.

Tim Seiler was quoted in a Marketplace radio story about charity overhead costs in the wake of the upheaval at the Wounded Warrior Project.

In a blog in the Huffington Post, U.S. President of United Way Worldwide Stacey Stewart discussed our research on women’s philanthropy.

The Telegraph (UK) discussed our research about women’s philanthropy in an article entitled “Why are men more stingy than women when it comes to charity?”

A Town & Country article on the politics of donations cited our study of anonymous giving.

A Houston Chronicle article on the Greater Houston Community Foundation’s creation of a new family philanthropy center cited our Philanthropy Outlook predictions.

Una Osili was quoted in a Deseret News story about Baby Boomers’ charitable giving.

The Cleveland Jewish News drew on our 2014 U.S. Trust Study of High Net Worth Philanthropy in a story about whether giving to political campaigns comes at the expense of giving to charity. The study also was cited in a Palm Beach Daily News article about wealthy donors giving to higher education.